macerate

/ˌmæsəˈreɪt/

Other forms: macerated; macerating; macerates

When you macerate something, you soften it by soaking it in a liquid, often while you're cooking or preparing food.

To macerate strawberries, all you have to do is sprinkle sugar on them, which draws out their juices so they become soft and sweet and deliciously saucy. Macerate is sometimes also used to mean "cause to grow thin or weak," or in other words, to make someone feel like a soft, squishy strawberry.

Definitions of macerate

1. verb

   soften, usually by steeping in liquid, and cause to disintegrate as a result
   “macerate peaches”

   type of:

   soften

   make soft or softer
2. verb

   separate into constituents by soaking
   type of:

   separate

   divide into components or constituents
3. verb

   become soft or separate and disintegrate as a result of excessive soaking
   “the tissue macerated in the water”

   type of:

   soften

   become soft or softer
4. verb

   cause to grow thin or weak
   synonyms: emaciate, waste

   type of:

   debilitate, drain, enfeeble

   make weak